SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED 



A COMPLETE EXPOSITION 

OF 

CLAIRVOYANCE OR SECOND SIGHT, 

AS EXHIBITED BY THE LATE 

ROBERT HOUDIN AND ROBERT HELLER, 

SHOWING 

HOW THE SUPPOSED PHENOMENA MAY BE PRODUCED. 

/ 

WASHINGTON IRVING BISHOP. 



2-0 ><7 



'] 



1880. 
{M right! of Translation and Reproduction are reterved.] 



GrV 



[Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year Eighteen Hundred 
and Eighty, by Washington Irving Bishop, in the Office of the 
Librarian of Congress at Washington.] 









CONTENTS 



CHAPTER I. 
Introductory, --.- ... 7 

CHAPTER II. 
Preparing the Way, - - - 11 

CHAPTER III. 

Preliminary Experiments (Including Clairvoyant 
Reading — Sympathetic Blood-Writing — Sealed- 
Letter Reading— A Clairvoyant Card Trick), - 15 

CHAPTER IV. 
A Code for Figures, 25 

CHAPTER V. 
Examples in Denoting Figures, 36 

CHAPTER VI. 
A Code for Words, - - 43 

CHAPTER VII. 
General Principle of Coding, 47 

CHAPTER VIII. 
A Specimen Code for Classification, 52 



CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER IX. 
A Code for Cards, -56 

CHAPTER X. 
A Code for Coins, - - - • - - . - 58' 

CHAPTER XI. 

A Code for Money, ------- 63 

CHAPTER XII. 

Other Special Codes (Including a Code for Dress — 
for Colours— for Flowers — for the Days of the 
Week — the Months), ------ 69 

CHAPTER XIII. 
Conclusion, ----77 



INDEX 



THE CODES. 

Page. 

Caeds, - --56 

Coins, -_..5g 

Coloue, 74 

Dates, .-.-25 

Deess, 70 

inscriptions, .-.-----43 

Money, --------- 63 

Legation and Affirmation, - - - - - 75 

Oenaments, ---------73 

Repetition, ---.-----59 

LEGERDEMAIK. 

Claievoyant Caed Teick, ------ 23 

Claieyoyant Reading, ------- 16 

Sympathetic Blood-Weiting, ----- 17 

Sealed-Lettee Reading, ------ 50 



SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED, 



CHAPTER I.— INTRODUCTORY. 



Clairvoyance may be said to have been an invention of 
the juggler Houdin. It had existed before his time in an 
incomplete manner ; and there is no doubt that many of 
the so-called Sorcerers of ancient times worked upon some 
similar method. Houdin was much improved upon by the 
late Mr. Heller, whose exhibitions excited the liveliest 
interest in the audiences before whom he performed ; and, 
without doubt, he was the most finished conductor of a 
Clairvoyant entertainment who has ever exhibited. It 
would have been an ungracious act during his lifetime 
to withdraw the veil from the mystery of his performances ; 
but now that he is dead no reason can be offered against 
the plainest possible exposition of his method of work. 

There is, indeed, much reason in favour of an explanation 
of Clairvoyance, because knowledge of the process is still 
sufficiently obscure to enable unprincipled persons to use 
the influence that this supposed power gives them for 
improper purposes. Nothing can be more detrimental to 



8 SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED. 

morals than the prevalence of superstition ; and there is 
scarcely a phenomenon in existence which operates so 
largely to the encouragement of superstition as the supposed 
power of Clairvoyance. It is always associated in the 
vulgar mind with the power of prophecy and divination. 
The many inquiries made of me as to the process 
of mesmeric exhibitors and Clairvoyants proves how 
widespread is the curiosity on the subject. The absence of 
any explanation gives rise to the belief among weak people 
that there is something supernatural in the matter, and 
that, in fact, the supposed professor of the power of second 
sight is working under the influence of some occult force. 
In the following pages I propose to show exactly how 
Clairvoyance, or Second Sight, is managed; and how any two 
persons, with moderate practice, can perform simple 
experiments, and, with a great deal of practice, can go 
through very difficult and complete processes. 

Let me, however, before proceeding to an explanation, 
describe the incidents usually characteristic of an exhibition 
of Second Sight, that we may clearly understand what it 
is we are dealing with. 

The Clairvoyant is usually a young lady, interesting 
in manner and dejected in appearance, as if distressed by some 
constant strain upon the nervous system. The Clairvoyant 
also presents an appearance of passive submission, as 
if in fear of some all-powerful controlling influence; 
and, even when possessed of robust vigour, she assumes 
a general air of having no will of her own, and, 
of exceeding timidity. The Clairvoyant is blindfolded 
completely. The blindfolding, it may be stated, is absolute 
and perfect ; and, in some cases, she sits with her back to 
the audience with a shawl over her head — a precaution 



SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED. 9 

which is resorted to in order, as the Conjurer says, to 
make quite sure she does not see round the corner, but 
really for some other purpose, which will be shown 
hereafter. So seated, in complete darkness and isolation, 
the controller points to articles of dress worn by persons in 
the audience in rapid succession ; and she tells what he 
touches with corresponding rapidity ; and inasmuch, as 
her questioner simply asks in respect of the first article 
touched — " What is this ?" and in respect of succeeding 
articles, "And this f " And this V " And this T it is held that 
the questioner gives no indication in his question of the 
answer he expects. It is impossible, says the spectator, 
that he can make a communication to the Clairvoyant, 
because, whether he touches a brooch, a pin, a watch- 
chain, or a black cap, he says no more than the simple 
question, " What is this T " Or this?" "Or this?' rapidly 
following this experiment by others more difficult and more 
confusing. Objects presented to the controller, or simply 
shown him by people in the audience, are, at his request, 
correctly described by the Clairvoyant; and, in some 
cases, the audience is furnished with a description more 
detailed than even the possessors of the articles themselves 
could give of them. Strange coins with ancient dates, 
railway tickets with numbers, bank notes with numbers 
and dates, curious instruments, mathematical and technical, 
outlandish charms, eccentric heirlooms, are all produced in 
rapid succession ; and each and all are described with, 
an accuracy and clearness by the blindfolded Clairvoyant 
that is inexplicable and astounding. Then figures are 
written down by persons in the audience, and the 
Clairvoyant, with unfailing accuracy, states what these 
figures are ; and even if a question is asked by a person in 



10 SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED. 

the audience instead of by the Conjurer, the Clairvoyant's 
answer will be correct. Only one condition is insisted on 
throughout the proceedings, and that is, that the controller 
of the Clairvoyant should be made acquainted with the 
thing shown or the figures written, on the principle that 
the sight of the Clairvoyant is second sight, and that what 
her kindred spirit sees, she can see ; that she, in fact, sees 
through the medium of the controlling personality instead 
of her own physical eye, and that she can do so by 
communion of spirit, the operation of which is superior to 
space and defies natural laws. 

These being the characteristics of a Clairvoyant 
exhibition, I have now to describe how the process is 
brought about by simple natural arrangements. 



SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED. 11 



CHAPTER II.— PREPARING THE WAY 



In the first place it is necessary to keep in mind the 
leading feature of the scheme. This leading principle is, that 
the answer expected is always indicated to the Clairvoyant, 
either by a settled arrangement before the entertainment 
or by the manner in which the question is asked. It 
is very possible that a person reading this exposition has 
seen some instance of Clairvoyant exposition which has very 
much struck him, and he may have formed some theory 
about the process. It is more than probable that he will 
find a few pages further on that the explanations are not in 
accordanco with his theory, and that the first explanations 
do not immediately account for the striking casein question. 
He will find, however, as he goes on, that the principle 
here stated will comprehend every case of so-called 
Clairvoyance. 

It will be generally observed that whenever the Clairvoy- 
ant exhibits the exhibition is prefaced by a variety of other 
conjuring tricks, card tricks, and mysterious developments 
of uuknown quantities of goods from hats, and other 
experiments, common to the conjuring profession. And it 
is usual, of course, for the Clairvoyance procedure to 
commence only in the second part of the entertainment 
after the customary interval of a few minutes. 

During these experiments of a conjuring character, the 
Conjurer takes stock of the wearing apparel and the striking 
features of interest that he can observe in the two front rows 
of the hall, and in the persons who happen to sit upon the 



12 SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED. 

side seats of the aisle. If there should be no aisle in the room 
in which the exhibition takes place — and it will usually be 
found there is no aisle — there is generally a gangway 
constructed between the spectators, upon which the Conjurer 
walks to show off his expositions. The Conjurer, in 
passing up and down this front row, and through the 
middle of the room, will observe that a lady has a yellow 
flower in her bonnet, that the gentleman next her has a 
gold scarf-pin with cameo, that the person next him wears 
an extraordinary watch-chain, that the person next him has 
shirt studs of a striking character, so that objects of more 
than usual prominence may be easily noted by the most 
casual observer upon any row of persons in a room. The 
Conjurer, in passing along the front row, collects these 
objects in his head in a natural order; and by a process of 
association well known to professors of mnemonics, and 
easily acquired, those articles can be all strung together 
with precision in a very few moments while the operator 
is going through his ordinary conjuring tricks with cards. 
In fact, the use of cards for going amongst the audience to 
ask particular persons to take one is a cover by which a 
knowledge of particular articles of dress is acquired, and 
without such preliminary card experiments the first part 
of the Clairvoyant trick could not be performed. Whether 
we take the front row or the passage way down the middle 
of the room, it will be observed that the same information 
can be acquired. 

For purposes of clearness let us follow out this experiment 
to its end before proceeding with the others. The 
series of objects, then, is collected by the Conjurer, and 
when retiring behind the stage, either for some new 
apparatus or during the usual short interval, this list of 



SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED. 13 

the things to be seen upon the audience is communicated 
to the Clairvoyant. This may be done by writing or 
by repetition ; and, having been done, the Clairvoyant will 
keep them in mind until she gets the signal to commence 
repeating them. This signal is given by the Conjurer after 
informing the audience that lie will touch certain articles ; 
and, as he touches them, the Clairvoyant will describe 
their characteristics. With such a speech necessary for the 
information of the audience as to what he is going to do, he 
also communicates, to the Clairvoyant that the first of 
the fixed objects is about to be commenced. And 
then he proceeds to the second, and says, "And this 1 ?" 
to the third, and says, " And this f and so the whole 
string of the first series can be rattled out without the 
slightest communication between the two beyond the 
preliminary arrangement. After the first series has been 
run out the second experiment is usually proceeded with, 
and, at some point which may be either indicated by 
information stated to the audience, or by previous 
arrangement as to time, the second series can be run through 
in like manner, and the same with the third. 

The process of association by which this may be done is 
common to all processes of artificial memory, and may be 
described as follows : — Taking a simple word, such as 
Clairvoyant, you may start from it and call to your mind 
another word which Clairvoyant will naturally associate with, 
and in fact produce, such as Conjuring. The word Conjuring 
will call up Wand, Wand will call up Fairy, Fairy will call up 
Theatre, Theatre will call up Hamlet, Hamlet will call up 
Ghost, Ghost Death, Death Burial, Burial Mystery, and 
Mystery will recall Clairvoyant. It will be observed that 
on passing this once through the mind a whole string of 



14 SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED. 

words can be rapidly repeated without the slightest effort of 
memory. 

These strings of words are what we may call natural 
associations. They would be useful in recollecting a 
discourse which it was desired to keep in mind under circum- 
stances where note-taking was inadmissible. They are natural 
evolutions in the process of thought which is evoked by a 
well-reasoned discourse. But we want in the case of the 
Clairvoyant to associate things that differ, that are not 
natural, and, therefore, are not evoked one from the other. 
We therefore must find an association connecting two 
unconnected ideas, and, if we have a brooch on one person 
to be associated with a yellow flower on another, we should 
have some other process of connecting the two things than 
simply repeating one after the other in the manner of parrot- 
talking or schoolboy repetition. But this can easily be 
arranged. Professors of mnemonics associate, by the inter- 
position of one word as a connecting link, two ideas which 
they desire to connect — as, for instance, Death and Abyssinia 
might be associated, with War between them, each of which 
would be recalled instantly by the repetition of the one word. 

But the simple recollecting of a series of articles of dress 
does not require this elaborate process of mnemonics. 
In fact the Conjurer can always, if he chooses, run articles 
of dress in a certain order. No matter whether he commences 
With brooch, bonnet, watch-chain, or an umbrella, he will 
always be able to follow m the series, and the spectator will 
not detect that he always runs in the same order, provided 
always that he does not begin at the same point. But a 
system is required in continuing the experiments, and before 
explaining the process of conducting more elaborate cases, it 
will be necessary to go fully into some preliminary detail. 



SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED. 15 



CHAPTER III.— PRELIMINARY EXPERIMENTS. 



As a long series of card tricks would become monotonous 
if the whole of the preliminary period were devoted to them, 
some other arrangement must be made to enable the 
Conjurer to familiarise himself with his audience; and it is 
advisable for the Conjurer to introduce at this point 
experiments which partake of the nature of Clairvoyant 
exhibitions so far as appearance is concerned, and which yet 
are performed by some other process than that of the code 
about to be described. The object being to create a confusion 
in the mind of the auditors by the use of a variety of methods 
of communication, it is customary for the Conjurer to 
adopt these varieties of methods in rapid succession one after 
another, so that no single portion of the entertainment, 
for, say, a quarter of an hour in length, will be devoted to a 
process of communication identical in all respects. Much of 
the entertainment consists in the reading by the Clairvoyant 
of numbers proposed by persons in the audience, and this 
appears to the audience a most remarkable part of the 
performance. Now, the process by which this is done is 
exceedingly simple; and if the entire entertainment were 
devoted to that process, there would be some probability of 
an ingenious person, by the use of shorthand, or other 
convenient mode, recording what occurred, and thereby 
discovering the symbols by which the figures were 
communicated. In order, however, to prevent this, it is 
customary to break in upon the process of figure 
interpretation with other processes in which experiments 

B 



16 SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED. 

with figures form a prominent part, and others in which 
figures do not occur at all, but which appear equally 
marvellous with those in which the Clairvoyant seems to 
read the mind of the Conjurer. 

Clairvoyant Beading. 

One very common experiment is for the Conjurer to 
present a book to any person in the audience who chooses to 
hold it in his hand, and ask him to open it at any page he 
pleases. He informs the Clairvoyant that although blind 
folded she may be able to see the spectator from under the 
lower portion of the bandage, and would thus get some idea 
of the page at which the book was opened ; he therefore 
proposes that she should sit with her back to the audience, 
and for further precaution suggests to her to place a shawl 
over her head. The visitor having opened the book at page 
32, the Conjurer requests him to count down a certain 
number of lines, and show him where he, wishes the 
Clairvoyant to begin. The Conjurer then asks the 
Clairvoyant to commence, and she immediately reads the 
passage indicated. 

The result is most marvellous, but the explanation is 
simple. The Clairvoyant, having her back to the audience 
and a shawl over her head, produces the book from her 
dress and opens it on her knee. When the Conjurer asks the 
gentleman who has the book, " Have you opened the 
book T the Clairvoyant becomes aware that the next words 
he addresses will contain an indication of the page where 
the book has been opened. He will say next, " Make no 
mistake." The Clairvoyant takes notice that the initials of 
the first two words uttered by the Conjurer are "M" and 
"N." The Clairvoyant knows that " M N " is to indicate 



SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED. 17 

to her the number of the page of the book, and she 
interprets the letters without any difficulty to read 32. The 
reason of this will be explained hereafter when the code is 
described in detail. The next thing is for the Conjurer to 
ask the spectator to put his finger at the beginning of any 
line he likes in that page. Hearing that request made, the 
Clairvoyant keeps on the watch. The next words he utters 
tells the Clairvoyant what the line is. If it be 10, he will 
make use of some such remark as this : <l It is quite right. 
Proceed," and the Clairvoyant will know that the " T " and 
the " S," the first consonants in the first words spoken, 
indicate to her that she is to commence at the tenth line. 
The code by which she knows that "M N" means 32, 
and '•' T S " 10, will be explained shortly. The figures, 
however, are perfectly intelligible to the Clairvoyant, who 
begins at once to recite the passage from that point. 

The spectators are filled with wonder, but they are 
not aware of the fact that immediately the Clairvoyant 
turns her back to the audience and gets the shawl comfortably 
round her head she produces a duplicate of the book from 
her dress, and follows the spectator with commonplace 
regularity until she discovers the spot in the book, and 
then reads from it. The bandage and the covering with the 
shawl is used net for the purpose of preventing the 
Clairvoyant from seeing what goes on in the audience, 
but simply for preventing the audience from seeing what 
goes on under the eyes of the Clairvoyant. This is a 
ludicrous example of the most simple form of experiment, 
but it is admirably complete. 

Sympathetic Blood-Writing. 
Another experiment can be performed in which numbers 



18 SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED. 

form the leading feature, but in which the ordinary code 
takes no part. The Clairvoyant, apparently me s merised and 
being in a state of trance, is placed against a stand, with her 
left arm resting upon a pedestal, and there she remains 
completely unmoved. The Conjurer, however, before leaving 
her bares her arm to show that there is nothing upon it, and 
thereafter draws her sleeve down. The reason of this will 
be apparent shortly. 

He then calls upon the man who keeps the door to bring 
in a "Webster's Dictionary and he asks him to give it to 
anybody he likes in the hall. He then goes to some other 
person in the hall and says to him, " I have a book here 
and a paper knife ; I shall be obliged if you would take this 
paper knife in your hand and place it in between the 
leaves of this book as I hold it to you, that the audience 
may see that you determine at what page I shall open 
this book and that I do not open it at any page I choose 
myself." 

The spectator places the paper knife between the leaves of 
the book, and the Conjurer immediately thereafter opens the 
place and displays the paper knife. The gentleman who has 
put the paper knife between the leaves announces that he 
did so at page 115, let us say. That having been done, and a 
note taken of it by any person in the hall who chooses, the 
book is placed on a desk in full view of the audience 
with the paper knife in its place. The Conjurer then asks 
the gentleman who holds the dictionary if he will be kind 
enough to open the book at the page which has been 
indicated — namely, 115. 

He then goes into the body of the hall with a bag of 
counters with numbers upon them. He asks any lady or 
gentleman to take out of this bag the counters and look at 



SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED. 19 

them. They find that each counter bears a number upon 
it from one upwards. He then says : — 

" Now, you observe that the gentleman has indicated the 
page at which the dictionary is to be opened. The dictionary 
is open, and now I have to ask this lady to select the word." 

He then opens the bag to the lady, and asks her to take one 
of the counters, and only one. She takes out one counter, 
bearing, let us say, number 17. The counter is held up to 
the audience, and the Conjurer requests the gentleman who 
holds the dictionary to count down the first column of the 
page which he has opened, and to put his finger on the 
seventeenth word, and to be sure not to name it aloud, 
although he may communicate it to his neighbours to show 
^here is no collusion. 

This having been done, the Conjurer makes a few passes 
towards the Clairvoyant, and brings her from an apparently 
somnolent condition to that of an awakened subject of 
mesmerism. When she has recovered partially, he asks her 
to bare her left arm, and, upon her doing so, the audience 
sees to its amazement the word " Mystery," or some 
other word, written in blood, which proves to be the word 
selected in the manner described. 

This very puzzling exhibition is produced without any 
regard to the code already referred to, and about to be 
described, and is eminently calculated to confuse any person 
who may be on the track to discover what that code is. 

The way in which the trick is done is simple. The word 
i is selected beforehand, and a slip is prepared in red ink, which, 
in the act of pulling down the sleeve of the Clairvoyant is 
unrolled and pressed upon the arm, so as to leave an 
impression there in imitation of blood. In the book which the 
Conjurer presents to the gentleman who inserts the paper 



20 SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED. 

knife so as to indicate the page of the dictionary there is 
concealed another paper knife at page 115; so that, no matter 
in what page the gentleman puts the paper knife, by the 
exercise of some dexterity the Conjurer takes good care that 
he opens it and displays the paper knife at page 115, and not 
at that place in the. book where the spectator placed the 
knife— the indication of the page of the dictionary being thus 
very simply explained. The bag of counters is a double 
bag, with a division running from top to bottom, and while 
on the one side are a lot of counters, each with a different 
number, on the other side are a set of counters all with 
one number only upon them. The Conjurer, of course, will 
not have on every evening in that side of the bag counters 
bearing the same number. One time he will have 15, at 
another 20, at another 32, and so on. He will 
place in the bag the number of the word which he has 
already inscribed for the arm of the Clairvoyant. This 
experiment, as before remarked, deals with numbers, without 
regard to a code. 

Sealed-Letter Heading. 

Another experiment equally effective as a piece of 
Clairvoyance is carried out in the following manner, 
and serves the double purpose of astounding the 
audience and enabling the Conjurer to gather together all 
the various peculiarities in the articles of dress in the front 
rows of the gangway, with which he deals as already 
described. The Conjurer distributes among the audience 
a number of white cards, on which people are at 
liberty to write anything they please. The envelope is 
given to one of the audience, and he is asked to collect the 
cards written upon, and place them in the envelope. 



SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED. 21 

When they are all collected the gentleman seals up the envelope 
and places it in the cleft of a stick, which is fixed up in full 
view of the audience. It will be observed that up to this 
time the Conjurer has not touched the envelopa or its 
contents. 

While the sealed envelope is thus exhibited the Conjurer 
goes among the audience, and collects a number of articles in 
a hat. He probably collects "a gold pencil-case, richly 
engraved," " a corkscrew of iron," " a penny match-box," 
"a visiting card," "a half-crown of 1858,' ; and other 
similar articles. He is in no hurry about it, and he 
examines each particularly as he collects them. 

He has thus the sealed envelope in the cleft of the stick 
which has not been in his hands, and the hat containing the 
collected articles. He blindfolds the Clairvoyant, and takes 
the packet from the stick. He opens it, and as he places 
each of the cards — which he thus takes for the first time, and 
even then does not read — she announces what is written upon 
them, to the great amazement of the audience. The 
Conjurer then takes the hat containing the collected articles, 
and these he extracts one by one. As he holds them up 
to the audience, the blindfolded Clairvoyant describes them 
accurately. 

This trick may be done in two ways — either with the 
assistance of the code about to be described, or entirely 
without it ; and as one of the objects of these tricks is to 
divert the audience from the system of the code, it is usual 
to do it in the following manner : — 

The preparation of the pieces of card and the placing of 
them in the sealed packet is done exactly as it appears to be 
done, and when the envelope is placed in the cleft of the 
stick neither the Conjurer nor the Clairvoyant know 



22 SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED. 

anything about its contents, or what is written upon the 
cards, nor even how many cards are there. The Conjurer 
of course knows what is in the hat, but the Clairvoyant does 
not. While the Conjurer, however, is bandaging the eyes 
of the Clairvoyant — and he takes some time about it — he 
whispers in her ear the order in which he will withdraw the 
articles from the hat. This she has to remember, and the 
order being preserved, this part of the feat is one simply of 
memory. 

The contents of the sealed envelope are communicated in 
another way. The Conjurer withdraws the cards from the 
packet, and, placing one against the forehead of the 
Clairvoyant, asks her to read what is written on it. She 
reads, let us say, "A case of pickles." If the Conjurer 
should choose to have a confederate in the audience, he will 
call out that he wrote that. If not, the Conjurer will 
pretend that some one did claim it, and thank him, urging 
the writer, however, to speak out so that all may hear. 
The card, however, thus dealt with does not really bear the 
words " A case of pickles," but something else. There is, 
in fact, no card bearing that sentence in the packet. The 
card, however, which the Clairvoyant says bears upon it 
"A case of pickles" is then placed on the table just below 
the Clairvoyant, and she is able to read what is written upon 
it beneath the bandage, though none in the audience can 
see that her eyes are within range of it. She then sees 
that the card has written upon it the words "Universal 
arrangement," and when the next card is placed against her 
forehead she says there is written upon it the words 
" Universal arrangement," and that card being placed upon 
the last, she sees what is written upon it, and appropriates 
that phrase for the next, and so on to the end, when a fresh 



SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED. 23 

card which has never been in the packet is produced, and " A 
case of pickles " is held to her forehead to do duty for the 
last genuine card lying before her. No sooner has the 
amazement subsided at this wonderful display than the hat 
is produced, and the Clairvoyant with marvellous accuracy 
describes the articles drawn from it. This compound 
experiment is used apart from all codes, and is in fact 
merely an expedient for enabling the Conjurer to make 
himself acquainted with his audience, and to dissipate any 
suspicions which other portions of the entertainment may 
excite as to his method of operation. 

A Clairvoyant Card Trick. 

There is yet another trick unconnected with the settled 
code equally marvellous in its appearance, and admirably 
adapted to throw the audience off the scent. It consists in 
asking one of the audience to draw one from a pack of cards. 
The auditor draws the ace of spades. The card is exhibited 
to all the people, and then presented to the person who drew 
it, with a request that it be placed between the pages of a 
book held by another person in the audience. This is done, 
and a dozen other cards are given to a dozen other people, 
and they are each placed in the book. The book so 
interleaved with cards is held by anyone in the audience. 
The Conjurer has never touched it since the ace of spades 
was placed in it, so far as could be seen, nor the Clairvoyant ; 
yet the blindfolded Clairvoyant announces the page in 
which the ace of spades is placed. The effect is electrical. 

This trick is quite unconnected with the code of Houdin. 

It is a combination of forcing and sleight of hand. A 

duplicate of the ace of spades is placed in the book beforehand 

i in the page designed. The ace of spades is forced upon the 



24 SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED. 

lady or gentleman in the audience. It is taken back by the 
Conjurer, who exhibits it to the audience, and in the act of 
swinging round, that all may see the card, he brings his hand 
round to the pack, and as quick as lightning places the ace 
at the bottom of the pack, and offers the person who drew 
it a card from the top — it may be a king, or a two,, or 
anything. The spectator quite unsuspectingly takes it and 
places it in the book, thinking it is the ace first drawn. 
The dozen other cards are merely blinds, but they appear to 
add to this marvel of divination by being calculated to 
confuse. There are points at which this trick may fail, as, 
for instance, if the person who drew the ace looked at the 
card given to him before inserting it in the book ; and also 
if the person holding the book looked into it and discovered 
the duplicate ace. This, however, is exactly what is 
never done, and really never thought of. 

The effect of this may be heightened by asking the 
Clairvoyant to read the first three lines of the page that 
the card faces, if she can see them. She will, of course, 
have previously committed them to memory. 



SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED. 25 



CHAPTER IV.— A CODE FOR FIGURES. 



It is now necessary, before proceeding further, to describe 
the staple part of the Clairvoyant's machinery. In 
the first place, there must be an arrangement in respect of 
figures, because it happens that most of the articles presented 
to the Conjurer by members of the audience consist of 
bank notes, or documents bearing numbers, which the 
Clairvoyant is supposed to have the power of reading, 
although her eyes may never be permitted to reach the 
articles in question. The first step to be taken is to 
appropriate to each of the nine figures a letter or letters, 
which, for the purpose of Clairvoyant experiment, shall be 
always synonymous. The most commonly-used letters, 
whether in ordinary processeses of mnemonics or for other 
purposes, are as follow : — 

Fig. 1 is represented by t, because t has one stroke, and, 
inasmuch as d is the companion letter oft, d also represents 1. 

Fio-. 2 is represented by n, because n consists of 
two strokes. 

Fig. 3 is represented by m, because m has three strokes. 

Fig. 4 is represented by r, because r is the last letter 
of four. 

Fig. 5 is represented by 3, because 1 is the Roman 
sign for 50. 

Fig. 6. is represented by h, and if you cut off the 
bottom from the figure 6, you have h. 

Fi<*. 7 is like a key, and therefore k is used to represent 
it, as also hard g, and hard c its companion letters. 



26 SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED. 

Fig. 8 is represented by f, which it resembles, as. 
also by v, the companion letter of f, and w, the companion 
of v. 

Fig. 9 is represented by p, which it is like when the 
letter is reversed ; and b, the companion letter of p, is also 
used to represent 9. 

Fig. is represented by s and z. 

Having settled that the figures should be represented 
by letters, we next proceed to determine the method by 
which these letters shall be used so as to convey any figure 
or combination of figures from the Conjurer to the 
Clairvoyant. It is usual for the Clairvoyant to be 
blindfolded, and for a black board to be placed in such a 
position as that the audience may see what is written upon 
it, while the Clairvoyant cannot possibly distinguish whether 
anything whatever has been written upon it. It is 
customary then for the Conjurer to request the audience, or 
some member of it, to write any figure or combination of 
figures upon the board. The audience may designate a set 
of chree or four figures in the first instance, or a 1 or a : 
the result will be equally the same. But, in order to 
make the matter clearer, we will here commence with 
single figures from 1 upwards. 

Let us suppose that a member of the audience has asked 
the Conjurer to write the figure 4 upon the board. Having 
written it in the face of the audience without saying a word, 
it will then become necessary for him, in the interests of the 
audience no less than his own, to request the Clairvoyant 
to state what that figure is ; because, the Clairvoyant being 
blindfolded, and not knowing apparently what is going on, 
must of necessity be told that now is the time for her to read 
and to speak. It is in the request which the Conjurer 



SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED. 27 

makes to the Clairvoyant at this point that he communicates 
to her the figure on the board, and the cleverness of the 
trick lies in the dexterity with which this can be done, 
as also in the many ways in which the communication can 
be made. In the case under consideration, the Conjurer has 
the figure 4 upon the black board, and the audience are in 
expectation. The Conjurer simply says — 

" Read, if you please, this figure." 

In that sentence he has told the Clairvoyant, firstly that 
it is a single figure — he has done that in two ways — and he 
has also told her what the figure is. He has told her that it 
is one figure by using the word " figure " and not " number ". 
Obviously, a figure may be a number, but a number is not 
necessarily a single figure. Then he also uses the words 
'•'if you please," a very commonplace expression — the 
natural phrase dictated by ordinary politeness in the presence 
of strangers, and exhibiting the courtesy of the Conjurer to 
his assistants. But that phrase, " if you please," means that 
the Clairvoyant is to direct her attention to the word or 
words preceding it for the information that is to be conveyed 
to her — i.e. j " if you please " means, take into account the 
word " read," and treat " if you please " as a full stop after 
the communication has been made to you. The Clairvoyant 
knows that the word " read " gives her the figure, and then 
she says to herself, " What letter commences the word 
read 1 " The answer of course is " R," and as " R " represents 
four, she replies without hesitation that four is written on the 
black board. 

To illustrate this more completely, let us go through the 
whole of the figures in succession. 

If the figure 1 be suggested, the Conjurer may say — 

" Tell, if you please, this figure 1 " 



28 SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED. 

The figure 2 may next be placed on the board, and he 
will say — 

" Now, this figure 1 " 

It will be observed that in some cases the "if you 
please" is omitted. It is a superfluity, and the constant 
repetition of any given phrase is to be avoided if the 
information can be fully conveyed without it. In the case of 
the figure 3, the Conjurer might say — ■ 

" Make an effort to give us this figure ? " 

For the figure 4 he might say — 

" Head us this figure % " 

For 5— 

" Let us hear what this figure is % * 

For 6— 

" Here is another figure 1 " 

For 7— i 

" Can you tell us this figure ?" 

For 8— 

" Follow me as I write this figure." 

For 9— 

" Please tell us what this figure is % " 

And if it be 0— 

" See, here is a figure for you to name f or, 

" Say, what is this figure % " 

The constant repetition of the word " figure " would make 
the performance appear somewhat stilted, but this arises 
from the fact that the questions here are all placed in regular 
rotation from 1 to 0. This would not occur in practice, so that 
the constant repetition of the word "figure" would be 
avoided. And, it may be remarked here that one of the 
striking points of this process oi conveying information is 
that, although in each instance a single figure was dealt 



SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED. 29 

•with, yet the phrases used are of great variety, some of 
them exceedingly terse, and some very voluminous, and it 
is this disparity of the phrases which has often been a 
source of extreme confusion to those who have watched 
Clairvoyant exhibitions with the view of determining, if 
possible, how they were done. But the fact is, that a 
Conjurer who is expert will be able to confuse the audience 
by a considerable amount of talking, when in fact he has 
long before indicated what he desires to his assistant. It 
sometimes happens that the Conjurer is presented with the 
very difficult case of a single figure coming in at an 
inopportune time, when the conversation he is carrying on 
does not thoroughly well fit in with the letter with which 
he desires to commence his sentence. That makes him 
hesitate, and here his adroitness may supply him with a 
phrase which will take him out of the difficulty, and at the 
same time seem to add to the extraordinary character of 
the exhibition. For instance, if the Conjurer finds a 
difficulty in communicating the information to the 
Clairvoyant, he will turn to the person who has proposed 
the figure or number, and request* that person himself to 
ask the Clairvoyant to give an answer. In making that 
request to the member of the audience he will give the 
answer, and he will have adopted this course because the 
words he desires to use will fit in more appropriately with 
remarks to one in the audience than they could do to the 
Clairvoyant. 

When the number consists of more than one figure, the 
process is slightly more complicated. It becomes necessary, 
in the first place, for security, that the Conjurer 
communicate primarily the number of figures placed upon 
the board, and thereafter give the Clairvoyant information 



30 SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED. 

as to what these figures are. From the variety of phrases 
which are commonly used by Conjurers, and also by 
persons in ordinary conversation, it is easy to serve this 
purpose The phrases "Good !" and "Very good !" are simple 
and commonplace, and in no degree likely to excite suspicion. 
And it is by the use of such phrases that the Clairvoyant is 
informed of the number of figures she has to read. The 
phrase drops innocently from the Conjurer's lips, and it 
appears to the audience to be an expression of pleasant 
satisfaction at his own caligraphy, or as an indication of 
pleasure at being provided by a member of the audience 
with the necessary puzzle. But in these simple words 
which he utters the Clairvoyant is provided with a 
knowledge of the number of figures she has to read. After 
that, words fall from the Conjurer's lips which give the 
Clairvoyant information as to what the figures are 
precisely. And it must be always understood that the first 
letter of the first word represents the first figure, the first 
letter of the second word the second figure, and so on, until 
the phrase " If you please ! " comes in as a full stop, so as 
to give the Clairvoyant a double check upon the number 
of figures she is to read. 

It has been already noted that the word "figure" is 
used when only one figure is to be read. Whenever 
there are two figures, the word "number" is given, and 
the inquiry is never prefaced by anything, because it 
is agreed that " number " unassociated by any other sign 
shall mean two figures and two only. Therefore, if the 
number 13 is put upon the board, the Conjurer will say, 
" Tell me, if you please, what number I have written here ? " 
If 28, he will say, "Now, what is this number?" If 37, " My 
kind friend has given me a number ; if you can, tell it me?" 



SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED. 31 

It will be observed that this last remark is long, complicated, 
and possibly halting. It is not defective on that account, but 
is rather fitted to confuse anyone in the audience who imagines 
that he detects the process of communication; because, whereas 
a couple of words will in one instance give the information, 
twenty may be used in another instance, and convey no 
more. 

In the case of three figures, the Conjurer may repeat the 
word " Good " when recording them on the black board, 
or when he receives them on a piec3 of paper, and the word 
will be uttered without any appearance of communication to 
the Clairvoyant, simply in response to the kindness of the 
auditor, and, in fact, the phrase may be said to stand for 
"Thank you." The word "Good" having been used, the 
Clairvoyant will then be requested to read the figures 
written. Let us suppose the number to be 210. In 
that case the Conjurer will say, " Now, tell us, if you please, 
what this number is % " It will be observed that not only 
has he informed the Clairvoyant by the use of the word 
" Good " that she is to look for three figures, but he has 
used three words, and then added the full stop " If you 
please " in terminating the sentence. And it is in the three 
words preceding " If you please " that the Clairvoyant i3 to 
find the number. She sees immediately 2 is represented by 
the n in now, 1 by t in tell, and by s in us. It may be 
remarked here that the use of the vowel before the 
consonant designating the number is not only admissible, 
but desirable. It takes away the necessity of always 
commencing the words with consonants, and vowels 
representing no figures will always be regarded as nil; so 
that after practice they in no sense interfere with the process. 

If the number should consist of four figures, the Conjurer 



32 SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED. 

will use the phrase " Very good;" if five figures, he will say, 
" Very good, sir," or " Very good, madam j" and if there are 
six, he might say, " Good again." These preliminary phrases 
may be used alone, or they may be in alternate sets. They 
are easily arranged. What the Conjurer and the Clairvoyant 
have to be careful about is that they quite understand what 
the sign is to be. 

Ifc sometimes happens that a particularly clever auditor 
thinks he will confuse the Clairvoyant by writing down 
a string of identical figures — as, for instance, half-a-dozen 
3's in a row, or five O's. The system, however, is equal to 
the occasion. If there should happen to be three 4's put in 
a row, the Conjurer will immediately remark " Good." 
The Clair voyaut is thus informed that three figures 
have been written on the board. He will then utter 
the simple word " Read," followed by " If you please," and 
the Clairvoyant knows that the figure she has to name 
is 4 ; but having been told previously that there are 
three figures on the board, and having had the designation 
of only one figure, followed by "If you please," the rule 
tells her that the whole of the figures are the same, and 
thus a most difficult problem is solved by the utterance 
of two simple words. 

A more difficult example would be three 4's, preceded 
by two other figures, such as 9 and 6, making up 
five in all. On this being presented, the Conjurer would 
say, " Very good, sir," and as the difficulty of making up a 
sentence with three words, each commencing with the same 
letter, might be rather more than could be overcome without 
more opportunity for thinking than would be afforded on 
the platform, the Conjurer would resort to the expedient of 
taking the figures in detail, and he would communicate the 



SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED. 33 

first figure in the act of telling the audience that he would 
do so. As, for instance, he would say, "Probably the 
Clairvoyant would prefer to read these figures singly, as 
there are several of them." Then he would say, "Please," 
which would indicate 9 ; " Here is another," which would 
give 6; "Head this one," which would give 4; "Really, this is 
rather slow,"' would give another 4; and "Read" or "Ready" 
would give the last four. 

"We have seen, therefore, that not only can we turn 
figures into words, but we can strengthen the code by the 
following : — 

For one figure we use the word " Figure." 
„ two „ „ "Number." 

„ three „ „ " Good." 

„ four „ „ "Very good." 

„ five „ „ " Very good, sir." 

,, six „ „ " Good again." 

And now, in order to illustrate the process of conveying 
the designation of figures, let us go through a series, such 
as might be possibly put by members oF an audience at 
a public performance. Suppose the number 6,000 is 
proposed, the Conjurer would say, " Yery good," indicating 
that there are four figures, and then, " Here is something, 
sir." The next figures might be 10, which the Conjurer 
will designate by saying, "Tell us, if you please, this number 1 ?" 
Then, someone thinking to catch the Conjurer, might 
designate 1, and the Conjurer will say, " Tell us this figure T 
It will be observed that this second phrase is almost 
identical with that designating 10; and in the audience, 
where a speech is not recorded, one might be excused 
for declaring that they were absolutely identical. Then, a 
person might come in with five 0's in a row, which would be 



34 SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED. 

thought eminently calculated to confuse the Conjurer. He 
would, however, say, " Very good, sir." and then he would 
utter the monosyllable " Say " or " See/' and the answer 
would be given. 

When the figures placed upon the black board exceed 
six, it is necessary to proceed upon some more general plan. 
The cases in which the figures exceed six will be few, but it 
is essential, in the construction of a code, that it shall be 
particularly elastic, and able to deal with all contingencies. 
Consequently, when more than six figures are recorded, it is 
necessary to communicate the number by a preliminary 
sentence. As, for instance, if seven figures are recorded, the 
Conjurer would say, " Can you tell me how many figures 
are placed upon the board?" and the Clairvoyant would 
answer " Seven," because C represents 7 ; if eight, "Will 
you name the number of figures upon the board 1 " if nine, 
" Pray, tell me how many figures there are here 1 " In each 
sentence the initial letter of the sentence designates the 
number of figures. To heighten the effect the Clairvoyant 
might say, " Well. I will count them ;" and the Conjurer, 
pointing in silence his wand to the first figure, the 
Clairvoyant would say, " One ;" moving it to the second she 
would say, " Two ;" and so they would go on through the 
number ; and it would appear as if, by the silent pointing, the 
Clairvoyant not only saw the figures, but also the act of the 
Conjurer in indicating what she was next to mention. 
Having thus stated fche number of figures, he would 
proceed to give them in detail by asking for each in 
its turn. Let us suppose that the figures written were 
1,427,842, he would say, " Tell me the first figure ;" " Read 
the second ;" " Now, the third ;" •' Can you see the fourth 1" 
" Will you tell us the fifth T « Eight ;" " Now, the last." 



SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED. 35 

In cases where fractions are added the difficulty will be 
slightly increased, but the code can be easily extended to 
these. The designation of fractions is an affair of 
considerable delicacy, and it is desirable to give some agreed- 
upon indication that fractions are in the case. Either a 
snap of the fingers or a stamp of the foot might be the 
preliminary to the designation, accompanied by the word 
11 Quick." The word " Quick " with a stamp would in fact 
be Clairvoyant language for "fractions to come." If, 
for instance, 144 were placed upon the board, the 
Conjurer would say, "Now read," and then he would pause 
and give a stamp and say " Quick," This would mean 
'' fractions to come." Then he would say, " Tell, now." 
"T" means 1, and "N" means 2, so that the fraction is 
one-half. If it were J, he would use only one word — namely, 
" This ;" and if it were f , he would use a word commencing 
with " M," indicating three, the quarters being understood. 
It will be seen that the whole thing, as previously stated, 
consists in the prior arrangement, and, of course, it must be 
associated with constant practice and the greatest 
watchfulness. 

The signals may be purely arbitrary in their character. 
So long as the arbitrary indication has been agreed on 
between the parties, it may be as foreign to the subject in 
hand as if they were to arrange to call a horse by the title 
of a book, or designate a camel by a term in algebra. To 
illustrate the dealing with numbers more particularly, the 
next chapter is devoted to a list of numbers which may be 
placed on the board, with the explanations in immediate 
succession. 



36 SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED. 



CHAPTER V.— EXAMPLES IN DENOTING 
FIGURES. 



1. — " Tell us this figure ? " t represents 1. 

2. — " Now, read this figure ? " n ■• 2. 

3. — « May I trouble you to denote this figure V m : 3. 

4._« Read this figure %" r : 4. 

5. — " Let us hear what this figure is 1 " 1:5. 

6. — " Here is another figure." h : 6. 

7. — " Can you see this figure 1 " c : 7. 

8.—" Will you state this figure I " w : 8. 

9.—" Pray, tell us this figure ?" p : 9. 

0._" See this figure." s : 0. 
10.—" Tell us this number * " t : 1 s : 0. 
11.— « Try this number 1 " t : 1 t : 1. 
12.—" The number ? " t : 1 n : 2. 
13.—" Tell me the number ? " t : 1 m : 3. 
14.—" The reading of this number should be easy." 

t : 1 r : 4. 
15. — "This little number should be easy." t : 1 1:5. 
1 6. — " Try her yourself, sir, with this number.'' (This may 
be addressed to the gentleman who proposed the 
figures.) t : 1 h : 6. 
17._« Try again. The number?" t : 1 g : 7. 
18. — "/This will be an easy number." t : 1 w : 8. 
19.— ;"Tell, please, this number? " t : 1 p : 9. 
20. — " Now, see this number ? " n : 2 s : 0. 
21. _« Now, tell this number ? " n : 2 t : 1. 
22. — " Now, indicate this number ? " n : 2 n : 2. 



SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED. 37 

23. — "Any more after this number'?" (This to the 

audience.) n : 2 m : 3. 
24. — " Now, read this number." n : 2 r : 4. 
25. — " Now, let us hear this number.' 7 n : 2 1:5. 
26. — " And here is another number." n : 2 h : 6. 
27. — ■' Xow, can you state this number ? " n : 2 c : 7. 
28. — " Now, will you tell us this number 1 " n : 2 w : 8. 
29. — " Now, please, this number 1 ?" n : 2 p : 9. 
30. — " Make us acquainted with your idea of this number." 

m : 3 s : 0. 
31. — " Many thanks. The number 1 " m : 3 t : 0. . 
32. — " More numbers ! " m : 3 n : 2. 
33. — " Make me acquainted with your notion of this 

number." m : 3 m : 3. 
34. — " Most readily will she read this number." 

m : 3 r : 4. 
35. — " More light would be acceptable on this board to 

some in the hall. Oh, you can see very well, 

you say. The number, please % " m : 3 1 : 5. 
36. — " Make haste. The number ? " m : 3 h : 6. 
37. — " Most kind of you, sir. The number %" m : 3 k : 7. 
38. — " May we hear what this number is? " m : 3 w:8. 
39. — £ " Maybe you can read this number % " m : 3 b : 9. 
40. — " Really, sir, I am obliged for this number." r : 4 s : 0. 
41. — " Read this number." r:4 t :1. 
42. — " Round numbers will do." r :4 n : 2. 
43. — " Read me this number." r : 4 m : 3. 
44. — " Ready-reckoning this ! The number please ? " 

r : 4 r : 4. 
45. — « Our last number is 1 " r : 4 1 : 5. 
46. — " Read here. The number ? " r : 4 h : 6. 
47. — "Read carefully the number." r : 4 c : 7. 



38 SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED. 

48. — " Really we are getting on famously. The number % " 
r : 4 w : 8. 
» 49. — " Read, please, the number 1 " r : 4 p : 9. 
50. — " Let us hear this number V 1 : 5 s : 0. 
55. — " Listen!" (To the audience). " Let us hear this 

number ? " 1:51:5. 
60. — " Here is another number ! " h : 6 s : 0. 
65. — " Here, let us Lave this number ! " h : 6 1 : 5. 
66.—" Ho ! here is a number ! " h : 6 h : 6. 
70. — " Give us this number 1 " g : 7 s : 0. 
75. — " Cry aloud this number ! " c : 7 1 : 5. 
77. — " Cry again. The number ? " c : 7 c : 7. 
80.—" What is this number V w : 8 s : 0. \ 
85. — ■" We leave you to guess this number." w : 8 1:5. 
88.—" Yery well. The number ? " v : 8 w : 8. 
90. — " Please, say the number." p : 9 s : 0. 
95. — " Pray, let us have this number." p : 9 1:5. 
99. — ■" Be pleased to let us have this number." b : 9 p : 9. 
100. — "Good! The same story. Our friends always 
think numbers of this sort puzzling." 

" Good " indicates that there are three figures, and the 
following initials give the actual figures : — 
t s s. 
10 0. 
1 84. — "Good ! This will receive my friend's best attention." 
" Good " indicates that there are three figures — 
' t w r. 
1 8 4. 
564.—" Good ! Let her read that." 

" Good " indicates that there are three figures — 
1 h r. 
5 6 4. 



SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED. 39 

000.— "Good. Say?" 

" Good " indicates that there are three figures — 
s. 
0. 

1,000. — " Very good ! It is surely some wag who has 
proposed this number." 

" Very good " indicates that there are four figures — 
t s s s. 
10 0. 

1,672. — "Very good ! Try how cleverly,, now, you can .read 
this numl e:- ? ' ? 

" Very good " indicates that there are four figures — 
t hen. 
16 7 2. 

2,484. — " Very good ! In reality few really difficult tasks 
are submitted." (This to the audience.) 

" Very good " indicates that there are four figures — 
n r f r. 
2 4 8 4. 

0000.—" Very good ! So V ' 

" Very good " indicates that there are four figures — 
s 
0. 

12,345. — " Very good, sir. The number, mademoiselle, or 
let us have it figure by figure 1 " 

" Very good, sir," indicates that there are live figures — 
t n m r 1. 
12 3 4 5. 

38,496. — " Very good, sir. May we read plainly here? 

The figures are not too clear." 



40 SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED. 

" Very good, sir," indicates that there ace five figures — 
m w r p h. 
3 8 4 9 6. 

» 264,378. — " Good again. Now, here are my kind friends 
giving us some terrible posers." 

i: Good again " indicates that there are six figures — 
n h r m k f. 

2 6 4 3 7 8. 

1,237,890. — " Can you tell me how many figures I have 
written 1 " 

C : 7; answer, 7. 

" Tell me the first V t : 1 ; answer, 1. 

" Next V n : 2 ; answer, 2. 

a Make out the third V 7 m : 3 ; answer, 3. 

" Good ! " g : 7 ; answer, 7. 

" Will you tell us the next ? " w : 8 ; - answer, 8. 

a Oblige us with the next 1 " b : 9 ; answer, 9. 

" So ! " s : : answer, 0. 

999,999,999.— " Oblige, if you please, by telling us how 
many figures are written here 1 " 

B : 9 ; nine. 

"Precisely." p : 9. 

One word only having been mentioned, the inference is 
that there are nine 9's. 

6 J. — " Here, if you please, a number. Quick ! (accompanied 

with a stamp of the foot). Try 1 " 

H indicates 6 

A stamp and " Quick ! " „ fractions to come. 

T „ i. 

Therefore 6 J. 



SECOXD SIGHT EXPLAINED. 



41 



15 1. — u Try. Louder, if you please. 


" (A stamp.) "Quick, 


the number 1 " 




T indicates 


1. 


L 


5. 


" If you please '? " „ 


the end of figures. 


A stamp and K Quick ! " „ 


fractions to come. 


T 


1. 


N 


2. 


fore 15 J. 




2 7 §. — " Xow, gently, if you please. 


' (A stamp.) "Quick. 


Make ready/' 




N indicates 


2. 


G 


7. 


" If you please " „ 


the end of figures. 


A stamp and "Quick ! ; ' „ 


fractions to come. 


M 


3. 


R 


4. 


Therefore 27f. 




, — " "Well, sir, if you please 1 " 


(A stamp.) "Quick!" 


■ All' 'I '' 

... S WelJ. 




W indicates 


8. 


s 


0. 


" If you please " „ 


end of figures. 


A stamp, " Quick \ " ., 


fractions to come. 


L 


5. 


w 


8. 


Therefore 80|. 





It is possible a person in the audience may suggest to the 
Conjurer that he should pretend to "write a figure on the 
board and yet not do so, and see whether the Clairvoyant 
was able to detect that nothing had been written on the 



42 SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED. 

board. The system is equal to this test also. The Conjurer 
would exclaim, quite naturally, "Excellent," and then, "What 
figure have I written on the board 1 " There being no figure 
represented by " X," the word " Excellent " serves for a sign 
that there is nothing to read. The Clairvoyant will heighten 
the effect of this experiment by assuming a little natural 
hesitation, and saying, " I cannot see anything — my mind is 
a perfect blank/' or some such phiv.se as that. The effect 
would be prodigious. 



SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED. 43 



CHAPTER VI.— A CODE FOR WORDS. 



The next point is to communicate actual words, such as 
the writing upon a bank-note or a railway ticket, or the 
inscription upon a coin, and it is necessary that the code be 
constructed with sufficient elaboration to enable the Clairvoyant 
to spell out language quite unknown to her. Nor need the 
language in question be comprehended by the Conjurer. It 
is necessary only that he can get a knowledge of the letters 
upon the coin, or, if they be in a character foreign to him, to 
get from the person who gives him the coin a fulfilment of 
the one essential condition of all Clairvoyant entertainments 
— that the person through whom the Second Sight is seen shall 
be fully acquainted with what he is looking at. 

Now, the communication of words is accomplished by 
means of a sentence in precisely the same way as figures are 
communicated. The first letter of each word indicates the 
letters of the word which the Clairvoyant is to speak. The 
word is, in fact, spelled to her by the sentence which the 
Conjurer utters to the audience. But in order to prevent 
the audience from ascertaining the process, the letters which 
commence the words which he uses are not the letters 
which the Clairvoyant is to take, but they are the letters 
which it is arranged should stand instead of those which 
make up the word that she is to read. 

All persons are familiar with those ciphers which 
occasionally appear in the newspapers, designed to 
communicate between one person and another some private 
arrangement. The most common of all these ciphers is to 



44 SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED. 

use " B " for " A," " C " for « B," " D " for « C," and so on 

through the alphabet, until you discover that "Z" 
represents " A." The extraordinary jumble which a 
sentence assumes when written by a transposition 
of the alphabet such as this must be familiar to every 
reader of advertising columns. Probably the most 
convenient code for the purpose of the Clairvoyant would be 
this simple transposition, with some modifications which will 
be found to be essential ; as, for instance, it may be 
thought impossible to use " Q " for " P," because in the 
English language so very few words commence with " Q." 
Nor could we use " Z " for " A," nor " X " for " W," but 
the latter modifications of the alphabet only are essential, and 
a fair alphabet is made as follows : — 

A is represented by B. 

B „ „ C. 

C „ „ D. ' 

D „ „ K 

E „ „ • ■ - R 

G „ ,, JL . 

H ,. „ 1. 

I „ „ K. - 

K „ „. L* 

L „ „ M. 

M „ „ N. 

ST „ „ O. 

o „ „ P. 

P „ „ Q. 

Q, „ j> XV. 

B „ „ S. 

S „ „ T. 



SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED. 45 

T is represented bv U. 
U „ „ " V. 

V „ „ W. 
W „ „ A. 

„ „ Easy. 

Y ., Very easy. 
Z „ „ Plain. 

The formation of this code is designed to facilitate the 
speaking of the Conjurer and the divination of the 
Clairvoyant. The Conjurer has the most difficult task to 
perform, since he has to discover an intelligible sentence out 
of words commencing with letters which he has not the 
choice of. If he should get the word " Hat," he lias 
immediately to make up a sentence the first word of whicli 
will commence with " I/' the second with " B," and the 
third with " TJ." He might say, " If both understand," 
and then he could pause and finish up the sentence in 
whatever way was the most suitable. The change from 
" H ■'"' to " I " will be easy in the mind of the Conjurer. 
It will be less easy for the Clairvoyant to travel backward 
from " I " to " H ;" but, inasmuch as she invariably reeeives 
more grace and time from the audience, hesitation on her 
part is less to be guarded against. In fact, it is not 
expected that she should answer immediatelv, and 
hesitation upon her part, even when she is thoroughly- 
acquainted with what she has to say, often heightens the 
effect of the exhibition. 

"With practice in this transposed alphabet anything the 
most abstruse may be communicated, and whenever the 
more particular code about to be described falls short, the 
Conjurer has always this full detailed spelling process to 
fall back upon. It will be observed that this code for 



46 SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED. 

spelling unexpected words is useful for describing documents 
presented by persons in an audience who adopt the rare 
test of producing an invoice or other document for the 
Clairvoyant to read. This test is rarely introduced, because 
it is not everyone who would care to bring his private or 
business invoices to a public assembly to read out. It is, 
however, sometimes done, and provision must be made for 
it and for other similar cases. This class of things, however, 
is limited, and an easy code for them may be prepared and 
added to, as new necessities are developed by experience. 



SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED. 47 



CHAPTER VII.— GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF 
CODING. 



Notwithstanding that all manner of things are handed to 
the Conjurer to be described by the Clairvoyant, and that 
things especially eccentric are taken by the audience 
for this purpose, it will be seen that the above mode of 
communication will not baffle the Conjurer when he is 
practised in his art. But although it is serviceable for 
the most unique articles, there is a modification of it 
bringing it into more simple form for known objects. For 
instance, a word or an act may be decided upon between 
the Conjurer and the Clairvoyant in cases where coins are 
produced, and a particular sign may be given when a portion 
of the human form is indicated ; another in the case of an 
article of dress ; and so on. You may form a series of general 
indicators not in any way connected with the matter 
indicated, but distinctly understood between the Conjurer 
and the Clairvoyant. And associated with this you may 
designate by the initial letter of your sentence the precise 
character of the article in question. 

The best process for conveying the character of the 
article exhibited would be by the use of a certain phrase in 
the course of the preliminary sentence. If you were 
indicating a part of the human frame, you would say, " What 
is this I point at?" — to point being the ordinary action 
associated with the indication of a portion of the body of a 
man, and therefore the word "point" is perfectly natural 
and would be easily understood. In the case of a 

D 



48 SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED. 

garment it is natural to touch it, and say, " What is 
this I touch ] " The answer would come that it was a piece of 
clothing, and if the Conjurer chose he might in 
his question indicate the character of the clothing. If 
it were a difficult task, he might pass on to the next 
without asking more minute questions. Then, if it were 
anything not of a movable character, in the shape of a 
decoration of the building or a mural ornament, he might 
say, "What is this I am looking at?" Having had 
communicated to her by the phrase " Looking at " that it 
was some article not removable from the building, she would 
unhesitatingly say it was something about the room. Other 
articles from the pocket might be designated by the general 
word " thing." The designation of less general objects not 
definitely coded under the initial system may with propriety 
and without exciting suspicion be given by the Conjurer 
in the course of the sentence in which he gives the precise 
definition — ^as, for instance, if a flower were exhibited, he 
might ask the name of tli9 flower, and in the sentence 
asking that name he might state that it was a flower. 

The above is the form of coding adopted in subsequent 
chapters, but an auxiliary to it may be provided. 

A common colloquial phrase is " Yes, yes." That might 
be set apart for an indication that a coin, not money, is 
exhibited. Another very common exclamation is "Certainly I" 
That might be used for an indication that some written 
document is being considered. The word could be 
uttered as the Conjurer takes the article from the person 
who offers it. To the audience the exclamation means that 
the Conjurer is quite prepared to accept the task. To the 
Clairvoyant it means much more. "Excellent idea!" is 
another phrase which might be set apart to indicate a 



SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED. 49 

portion of the human frame touched by the Conjurer. 
" Excuse me," might he used for indicating a portion of 
dress. To the audience it would be the apology of th© 
Conjurer, but to the Clairvoyant it would indicate that he 
was touching the collar of a gentleman's coat, or a lady's 
mantle, or some other ordinary habiliment. 

General indicators, however, constructed on this plan 
would be perfectly arbitrary in their character, and should 
be introduced sparingly. It is better to indicate the class of 
thing dealt with by a phrase in the question, and to give 
the generic description of the article in the initial letter of 
the first word of the question. The Clairvoyant having 
stated the generic character of the article dealt with, 
subsequent questions will fully convey to her information 
as to the colour of the article of dress ; the nature of 
a piece of jewellery ; the value of a coin — whether it 
be a local one, a foreign one, or an antique one — and, if 
it be an exceptional or uncommon one, the Conjurer 
will have all the more excuse for talking to the gentleman 
who has handed the coin to him. Through his apparent 
inability to comprehend the character of the coin, he will 
procure greater latitude to catechise the auditor, and so 
Convey to the Clairvoyant a minute and ample description, 
even to the extent of spelling out a foreign inscription, or 
conveying to her the pronunciation of a sign with which he 
is himself totally unacquainted, but the pronunciation of 
which he procures from the owner of the coin. 

In illustration of the arrangement for complete spelling, 
we will suppose the Conjurer first indicates a man's arm. In 
that case he would say, " Bo sure now, tell us what I am 
pointing at?" The phrase "Pointing at " would tell her it 
is some portion of the human body, and the pause between 



50 SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED. 

". Be sure new " and the remaining portion of the sentence 
tells her that the words " Be sure now " contain the 
word she is in search of. a B" stands for "A," "S" 
stands for "R," and " N " for "M." The Conjurer might 
next point to a lady's cuff, and he would say, as if 
pleased with the answer given to the former question^ 
" Delightful ! very good," which, interpreted, means cuff. 
Then he would say, " Tell us what I am touching?" and 
place his finger upon the lady's cuff. Having the intention 
to do this in his mind, he made the exclamation following 
upon the answer to the previous question, and conveyed to 
the Clairvoyant the answer to his next question. The 
Clairvoyant being blindfolded, is unconscious of the time 
when he begins to point. She listens only to what he says, 
and, for aught she knows, when he is opening his mouth he 
may be pointing to the next object. The audience, however, 
get a very different idea of what he is doing. They 
apprehend that he is only expressing his gratification at the 
skill of the Clairvoyant. And, having done this, he points 
to the next object, touches it, and says, " Tell us what I am 
touching 1 " 

Here, it will be observed, the phrase indicating the 
general subject is given, and the object itself is spelled in 
full. This full spelling, however, is reserved only for 
abstruse cases. A more simple process will be described 
presently; and even in cases where detailed spelling is 
required of words not specially provided for in the code, 
it is not necessary to spell the word accurately or 
fully. Unnecessary letters may be omitted, and 
frequently, as will be seen hereafter, the first letter will 
suffice. A shorthand writer knows with what facility the 
merest skeleton will bring home to him an entire word, 



SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED. 51 

and with practice between the Clairvoyant and the Conjurer 
equal facility may he acquired in apprehending what is 
meant. In fact, the whole process is a pure question of 
intercommunication by an arbitrary language skilfully used 
— a language that means one thing to the audience and 
another to the Clairvoyant. 

It must be distinctly understood that this chapter 
simply describes a principle of coding. The designations 
given are not all followed in subsequent chapters describing a 
full and consistent code step by step. 



52 SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED. 



CHAPTER VIII.— A SPECIMEN CODE FOE, 
CLASSIFICATION. 



In the preceding chapter is stated the principle on which 
a code is formed for conveying descriptions of things other 
than figures. In this chapter is given a specimen code for 
classifying common objects — that is to say, a code that will 
serve the purpose of classifying and naming an ordinary 
thing in a sentence; but it must be understood that 
it is merely a specimen, and that it is neither complete 
nor incapable of improvement, It is, moreover, adapted 
rather to the working of the minds of those who composed 
it than perhaps to the minds of any others, because every 
demonstrator of Clairvoyance will find it easier to adapt a 
■code for himself than to acquire a ready-made one. The 
code, in fact, is essentially a matter of association. The 
Conjurer and his assistant will naturally agree upon signs 
which to them are perfectly familiar and intelligible, but 
which to others would be far less so, if indeed not quite 
strange to them. There are, however, leading features in 
all codes, based upon universal knowledge, which can be 
easily explained and as easily acquired. 

There are some things that almost every gentleman 
carries — as, for instance, pieces of money, a card-case, a 
pencil-case, perhaps a cigar-case and other smoker's material, 
rings, a railway ticket, a watch, a bunch of keys. These 
are all common things, and they are each and all likely to be 
brought to an entertainment as a matter of course, and 
produced in default of anything better. Perhaps pieces of 



SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED. 53 

money, and curious coins specially brought to the entertain- 
ment to puzzle the Clairvoyant, are the most common. 

Previous chapters have dealt with the code for communi- 
cating dates, and also a code for spelling out words. Both 
of these codes are used in describing articles offered in the 
course of the entertainment, but they are made more simple 
in the working by an arrangement for preliminary 
classification— that is to say, a word uttered by the Conjurer 
on being presented with an object classifies it in the 
mind of the Clairvoyant. We have seen that the 
Conjurer, by using the phrase " Pointing at," directs the mind 
of the Clairvoyant to a portion of the human body ; when 
he uses the word " touching " it is an article of dress, and 
when he uses the phrase " Looking at," he directs her 
attention to a mural decoration, ornament, or other fixture 
in the building. Let us accept these designations as settled 
between us for the working out of this code, and in doing so 
let us dismiss the alternative from our minds. 

Pursuing this process, we can classify the things which a 
person usually carries in the pocket ; and in the first place 
the use of the word " thing " in the sentence is as good a 
generic term as you can desire. An alternative, or rather 
accompanying, designation is provided in " that I hold. 1 ' 
The precise character of the thing may be designated 
by the first letter of the first word uttered ; and if there 
are to be any exceptions to this general rule consequent 
upon two things beginning with the same letter, 
they must be arranged beforehand. In default of 
any arrangement having been made, they must be spelt in 
full, as was shown in the preceding chapter in dealing with 
" Arm " and « Cuff." Now, let us put this process in form 
in respect of the things jus.t now mentioned. 



54 SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED. 

A gentleman produces a coin. The Conjurer will say — > 

" Do you know what this thing is that I hold] " 
1 The use of the word " thing " designates the general 
character of the article. The phrase " That I hold" does the 
same. The letter " D," with which the question commences, 
stands for " C," and " C " stands for coin — that is, a coin as 
distinguished from the current coin of the realm. The 
particular description of the coin will be dealt with 
presently. We are now dealing only with the description 
of common objects. 

Money may be designated by the letter " N," whether 
metallic or paper. A gentleman offers a shilling, and the 
Conjurer says — 

" Now, can you tell me what thing this is I hold in my 
hand ? " 

The " N " stands for " M," and " M " means money. 

A cigar-case is offered, and as we have already 
appropriated " D " for coin, it is necessary we find some 
other initial designate. Proceeding mnemonically, we 
arrange to spell cigar with an " S " and make it " segar, ' 
and then we take " T " as the designating initial, and say — 

" Tell me what thing this is 1 " 

" T " represents " S," and " S " stands for cigar-case. 

The word " card-case " happens to be very much like 
" cigar-case ; " but it is advisable to distinguish a visiting- 
card from a playing-card, and it may therefore be arranged 
to call a card-case a " visiting-card case," and to 
designate it by the letter " W " in the sentence *' Will you 
tell me what this thing is ? " 

A pencil is offered, and the Conjurer says — 

" Quick, what is this thing ] " 

The " Q " represents " P," and « P " stands for pencil. 



SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED. 55 

A ring will suggest " Say what this thing is 1 " 
A watch, " Any idea what this thing is ] " 
A railway ticket offers some difficulties. " Ticket," 
however, is the best generic term to deal with, because it will 
comprehend all kinds of tickets. The letter " U," however, 
which represents " T," is a troublesome one to deal with by 
way of addressing the Clairvoyant. It permits, however, of 
many exclamations, such as " Understand ! " " Useful thing 
this !" " Usually speaking !" which will serve the purpose and 
vary the monotonous character of the communications. 

" Keys " is easy. " Just say what this thing is?" will 
serve the purpose; and with this example we close the 
specimens of generic terms for articles usually carried in the 
pocket. It may be remarked that when the Conjurer is 
running through a number of things, it is not necessary to 
use the word " thing " so long as he continues to deal with 
things without exception. As he goes on from one 
thing to another, and does not pass to an article of dress 
or other object, the Clairvoyant follows without difficulty. 



56 SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED. 



CHAPTER IX.— A CODE FOR CARDS. 



The Clairvoyant is blindfolded, and a new untouched 
pack of cards is produced. They may be opened by one of 
the audience, and placed face downwards by him. Any 
person in the audience may take up a card and exhibit it to 
the whole company. The Conjurer will request the 
Clairvoyant to say what card it is, and she will reply with 
unfailing accuracy. The code may be arranged thus : — 
Good stands for Hearts. 



"Very good 


55 


Diamonds, 


Well 


JJ 


Spades. 


Very well 


?> 


Clubs, 


One 


)> 


Ace. 


Two 


)} 


2. 


Ten 


)) 


10. 


Eleven 


)} 


Knave. 


Twelve 


}) 


Queen. 


Thirteen 


)} 


King. 



A spectator lifts the Queen of Diamonds. The Conjurer 
exclaims "Very good !'' And then he adds, *'Try now, if 
you please, to name this card ? " 

Very good : Diamonds. 
TN : 12 : Queen. 
Another spectator takes up the Two of Spades. 
The Conjurer casually remarks "Well 1 ?" and then he 
adds, " Name the card 1 " 

Well : Spades. 
N" : 2. 



SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED. 57 

Another will take up the Seven of Hearts. 
" Good ! * says the Conjurer, and then " Go on." 
Good : Hearts. 
G : 7. 

Another selects the Ace of Clubs. 

"Very well," says the Conjurer, "denote, if you please, 
the card ? " 

Very well : Clubs. 
D : 1 

If there is to be much working in cards, it would be wise 
to arrange alternative signs for the suits, so as to avoid the 
constant repetition of the same word, but for ordinary 
purposes this or some similar code would suffice. 



58 SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED. 



CHAPTER X.— A CODE FOR COINS. 



We now come to a very interesting part of the 
Clairvoyance exhibition. We have already seen how the 
Conjurer communicates that he holds up a piece of money 
or a coin not current. He has now to tell what it is, 
and all about it. 

In the case of coins it usually satisfies the audience if 
the date is given, but the code is sufficiently elastic to give 
every minute detail, even to an inscription in a language 
unknown to the operators. If the inscription is difficult to 
communicate, it is quite within the power of the Conjurer to 
pass on to the next article. No one puts a limit to his 
discursiveness except himself. If he sees an easy way of 
communicating some abstruse point, he will do it, and 
astound the audience ; but if he is content with some 
general description and the date, no one will Gomplain and 
few will fail to be surprised. 

It would be advisable in the matter of coins to set 
apart a few synonyms for descriptions of size and shape, as, 
for instance : — ■ 

Pretty might stand for Small. 
S „ Round, 



T 
P 
G 
R 



Square. 
Oval. 



Parallelogram. 



Triangle. 

It would be obvious to the Clairvoyant that the 
question of shape was under consideration, because that 



SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED, 59 

•would be apparent in the question j and it would suffice for 
the Conjurer to begin the question with the letter denoting 
the shape to convey all that is needed. 

iSfext comes the question of dates. This is very easy, 
and is worked by the code for figures already described. 
Dates of the present century are described only with the 
two final figures — as, for instance, in the case of the year 
1879, the 18 would be taken for granted, and only 79 stated. 

" Give, please, the date % " would suffice in this case, and 
it should be noticed that " please " carries a different 
signification from " if you please." " If you please " means 
the end of the communication. " Please " stands for " P," 
or figure 9, or for " " in the alphabet. 

Now, if the coin bears an inscription, and the Conjurer 
wants it fully described, he gets time to construe it by 
talking to the person presenting it and also by talking to 
the audience. The Clairvoyant would not be distracted 
by the conversation with the individual, but she might by 
louder speaking. A sign is, therefore, necessary to convey 
to her the fact that she is being addressed. This sign may 
be a stamp of the foot or a snap of the fingers simultaneously 
with the first word of the communication. This sign, or 
something similar, is also useful when, a first communication 
having been made, the Conjurer continues his remarks with 
irrelevant matter, and then desires to make a second 
communication. As, for instance : — 

" Do you know what this pietty thing is that I hold 1 " 
D : c : Coin. 
Pretty : Small. 

Confirmation is given to the interpretation by the use of 
the words " thing " and " I hold." It is something taken 
from a pocket — it is a coin — and it is small. 



60 SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED. 

" Please tell me the shape of this coin 1 " 

" Oval," because " P " represents " O," and " O "stands 
for " Oval." 

" Make out the inscription ? '' 

An inscription, the Clairvoyant knows, must be in a 
language. "M " represents " L," and " L " stands for 
Latin. She answers, " It looks like a Latin inscription." 

" Pretty well," answers the Conjurer, with a snap of the 
fingers at " pretty." 

The Clairvoyant goes on hesitatingly — 

"The letters are too small for me to read." 

"Well, just say here, if you please, what it is about % " 

Ytf : v; j : i; s : r; h : g ; Yirg. "If you please " 
stops the spelling, and the Clairvoyant knows it is about 
the " Virgin," and that the coin is a Roman Catholic token, 
common enough abroad, but very seldom seen in Great Britain. 

Sometimes a mistake is made. The Conjurer mis- 
apprehends what the article is, and he lias misinformed the 
Clairvoyant. He then has to go back and give the correct 
information. Let us give an instance * — ■ 

A spectator offers a gold pen in a silver holder. The 
Conjurer, without opening it, asks — 

"Quick, describe this thing?" 

The Clairvoyant answers, "A pencil." 

The spectator says, "Wrong." 

"I see it," says the Conjurer, "it looks- like it; what 
is it?" 

He opens it, and finds a pen inside, and no pencil. He 
then snaps his finger, and says — 

" Quick, ferret out, if you please, this thing 1 " 

"Q," «F,""0"— "Pen;" and then comes "if you please." 
The answer is complete. 



SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED. 61 

But there is a silver bolder and a gold pen. Here is a 
complication that needs care. There are two ways of doing 
this — one connected with the arrangement for money, to be 
described presently, and one which may be used for all 
other metallic articles. 

Brass is represented by C. 



Copper 


)> 


D. 


Silver 


■>■> 


T. 


Gold 


» 


H. 


Iron 


>> 


J. 


Tin 


;> 


U. 


Lead 


jj 


M. 



The above are the representative initials of the several 
words. So, when the Conjurer says — ■ 

" Tell, if you please, what metal this holder is made of?" 
the Clairvoyant knows it is a question of metals ; she knows 
the answer is contained in " Tell," because it is followed by 
" if you please •" and she knows " T " represents " S," for 
silver. 

Next comes the pen, the metal of which is designated by 
"H," and the Conjurer says — 

" Here, if you please, this metal 1 '*' and he puts his finger 
on it to suit the action to the word. The Clairvoyant 
interprets H : G, which stands for gold, and there is the 
answer. 

The description seems long, and at first sight 
complicated, but thought is rapid, and practice makes 
perfect. It would be ridiculous to imagine that a system 
which has puzzled thousands of people for many years past 
and defied detection should not be associated with difficulties. 
or need a considerable amount of practice, before proficiency 
can be arrived at. But the groundwork is easily acquired, 



62 SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED. 

and the principle is capable of indefinite extension, and is 
limited in practice only by the expertness of the operator. 

The most difficult of all tasks is the spelling out of 
entire words. It is not often the Conjurer is obliged to 
undertake this task, and he need never do it unless he can 
see an easy way to accomplish it — that is, an intelligible and 
natural sentence spelling the word. Suppose a ring is 
offered with a seal in it, and that, as a closing triumph, a 
Latin word is to be pronounced by the Clairvoyant. The 
Conjurer has told her that it is a ring ; that it is gold ■ that 
it has a seal engraved on it ; and now comes the word. 

" Make out the inscription?" 

A pause. Perhaps the Clairvoyant has not quite 
caught it. 

" Make out the language 1 " 

" Latin." 

" Well, just say 1 " (This to the Clairvoyant.) < Un- 
decided." (This to the audience.) " Yery unusual form, if 
you please, this design?" (This to the spectator who offered 
the ring.) 

Here the Clairvoyant has the word " Virtute." 
"W" j s u v u f 
Y i r t u t e 

Practice alone will give the Conjurer the necessary 
adroitness for compiling natural remarks in the necessary 
order, but, when once it is acquired, there is positively no 
limit to the power of communication. 

The Clairvoyant is much assisted in concentrating her 
attention by being blindfolded. She is by this means free 
from distractions, and depends entirely upon the voice of 
the Conjurer. 



SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED. 63 



CHAPTER XI.— A CODE FOR MONEY. 

The current coin of any State must be included in the 
four descriptions : — 

Gold 1. 

Silver 2. 
Copper 3. 
Paper 4. 

The four figures are placed opposite to the four 
descriptions, and the figures represent the currency. No. 1 
currency is gold, No. 2 is silver, No. 3 is copper, No. 4 
is paper. 

''Money" may be represented by te N," the substitute 
for K M," and to proceed from the beginning the Conjurer 
may first say — ■ 

" Name this thins: I am holding." 

The Clairvoyant, from the words " thing " and " am 
holding," knows that it is something taken from the pocket. 
She is told this by both words. She then looks to the first 
letter of the first word, and she knows that " N " represents 
" M," and that " M " stands for " money " among things 
taken from the pocket ; consequently she answers with perfect 
confidence — 

"Money." 

" Tell me what sort of money 1" says the Conjurer. 

"T" represents fig. 1, and No. 1 money is gold. 
Therefore the answer is — 

u Gold." 
'• Now, say, if you please, its value 1 " 

It is expedient that the values be always represented in 



64 SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED. 

a denomination of value less than the highest value of the 
metal being dealt with. Thus, gold should be described in 
shillings, and silver in pence, because it is easier to 
communicate "ten,'' than "a half.'' This having been 
agreed on, the Clairvoyant considers the sentence, "ISow, 
say, if you please f fixes on the two words " Now, say," 
because they came before the full stop " if you please," and 
interprets " N " as " 2 " and " S " as " 0." This gives— 

" Twenty shillings," or " a sovereign," as the answer. 

If the direction had been " Tell us, if you please, its 
value 1 " the answer would have been " Half a sovereign ;" 
for "T " represents " 1," and " S " represents " 0," giving 
ten shillings. 

" The date 1 " inquires the Conjurer. 

" T " represents " 1," and " D " represents " 1." The 
century being the present one it is not given, and therefore 
the answer is " 1811." 

The foregoing instance has been described in detail. 
Che following cases will be given, question and answer, as 
hey would fall from the lips of the Conjurer and 
Clairvoyant : — 

"Now, what is this thing I hold in my hand V 9 

" A piece of money." 

* Name the kind of money 1 " 

" A piece of silver." 

" Ho, say, if you please, the value 1 " 

" A five-shilling piece." 

" Read, now, if you please, the date 1 " 

" It is a Queen Yictoria coin. The date seems to be 
1842." 

" Name this thing I hold?" 

iC A piece of money," 



SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED. 



O.J 



" Make out its character 1 " 

" Copper money." 

< ; Right," 

" It's a penny-piece." 

" Give us the date 1 " 

" 1S70." 

In dealing with paper money it is necessary to arrange 
for the name of the bank and the value of the note. The 
number follows, as a matter of course, by the code for 
figures. 

The simple word "Bank," as an interruption, should 
always be set apart for the bank of the country. For 
instance, in England it would stand for the Bank of 
England. If it were a Scotch code, for the Bank of 
Scotland. If there are any other note-issuing banks in the 
district, they should be coded at once. In Scotland, for 
instance, a code would have to be made somewhat after the 
following fashion : — 

The Bank of Scotland would be indicated by 

„ Royal Bank 

,, Union Bank 



„ British Linen Co. 

„ Clydesdale 

„ Commercial 

The last letter would be 



" Bank." 

« S." 
" "V." 
" C." 
" D." 
" M." 
iven for this bank so as to 



distinguish it from the Clydesdale. 
Eor example : — 

" Xow, tell me what I hold in my hand ? " 
" Money," from " »," the substitute of " M." 
" Quick, what sort of money ] " 
" Paper," from " Q," the substitute of " P." 
" Say, what bank 1 " 



66 SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED. 

"Royal," from "S," the substitute of " R." 
" Let us hear its value % " 
" Five pounds." 

" Bight. If you please, how many figures are here in 
the corner 1 '' 

" Four," from " R," which stands for four. 
"Tell me the first V 

" Right." 

u ±» 

'■ Good." 
a ijr » 

" Correct." 

« All right," says the Conjurer. " 1,477." 

It may be here mentioned that " All right " can be used 
in its simplicity for both audience and Clairvoyant. A sign 
is needed for a general terminatiop of an experiment. It 
should be one which the Clairvoyant will understand to be 
so, and not a phrase for interpretation. " All right " would 
answer this purpose admirably. 

So far this code for money has been given in full detail. 
It has passed step by step from money to the kind of 
money — whether metallic or paper — to the value, and then to 
the date. Now, it would be easy to shorten this in some 
respects. While " N" " may be used for money, a word 
commencing with " N," followed by " quick," would stand 
for " paper money." For instance : — 

" Now, quick, if you please. What thing is this I 
hold?* 

"N," money; "Q," paper. Answer, " Paper money." 

"Bank?" 



SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED 67 

" Bank of England." 

" Let's hear its value ? " 

" Five pounds." 

This, however, has shortened the code by only one step. 
It may be still further condensed. The five-pound Bank 
of England note is the most common note in England, just 
as the one-pound note is the most common in Scotland, If 
a person has paper money in his pocket in London it 
usually consists of five-pound notes. Therefore, the five- 
pound Bank of England note should be coded to extreme 
simplicity. The final definition of the five-pound Bank of 
England note is rejjresented by " L," which stands or five. 
"Why should not that letter be used for the entire description 
at once 1 Let the Conjurer and Clairvoyant so determine it, 
and the following may be enacted : — 

A gentleman may produce a five-pound Bank of England 
note at a time when things from the pocket are being 
dealt with. The Conjurer will hold it up in full view of 
the audience, and will say — 

" Listen, if you please." 

He need say no more, or he may add, " What is this I 
hold ] " The Clairvoyant will answer — 

" You are holding up a piece of paper. It is a bank 
note. I see it is a Bank of England note for five pounds. 
You have your finger on the number." 

This sentence may be varied, but it should be produced 
falteringly, as if the object were dimly seen and hesitatingly 
made out. The mention of the number will call forth the 
fallowing : — 

" How many figures is the number made up of 1 ? " 

" Six." 

" Read them." 



68 SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED. 

" The first figure is four " 

" So it is." 

" A nought comes next,' 

" Right." 
v "Then four." 

" Well ? " 

K Then eight." 

"Good!" 

" Seven." 

"The last?'' 

" One." 

"All right— 404,871." 

Then comes a pause, after which the Conjurer exclaims — 

" Something more. What letter is this preceding the 
figures 1 " 

"The letter < B,\" 

" And another ? " 

" W." 

" All right. Is it right, sir ? " 

The gentleman will find it perfectly correct, and will be 
proportionately astonished. He will probably . be glad to 
have the note back in his pocket. 

The one-pound note in Scotland or Ireland may be 
treated in much the same way, and this also may' be taken 
as an example of the mode in which very common things 
may be coded down to extreme simplicity. 



SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED. 69 



CHAPTER XlL— OTHER SPECIAL CODES. 



It -will have been remarked that, in the course of 
describing the principle of the code, instances have been 
given of the Conjurer spelling the names of common objects 
in detail. This has been done merely to illustrate the 
principle upon which words, even the most abstruse, can be 
communicated, not because the code stops them, or because 
it is necessary to spell out these simple things. The 
examples were given to show what could be done in difficult 
cases. In the chapter immediately preceding cases are 
given of classification, so as to reduce communication of the 
less common objects to as simple a form as the most common. 

Some coins are common. Special care has been taken 
to reduce their designation and description to simple form. 
The same may be done with everything else. To give an 
out-of-the-way instance, it would be easy to construct a 
quick and detailed code for a minute description of every 
part of the human form, anatomically displayed in diagrams 
upon the wall, and for the Clairvoyant to follow the 
wand of the Conjurer as he pointed from one bone to 
another, or from one gland to another. The Conjurer has, 
in fact, to enrich his code, as he goes from place to place, with 
the nomenclature of the district reduced to a simple from 
the complicated form, and he has also to code up the money 
peculiar to the district, and perhaps the dress and 
manufactures. It will suffice, however, to further illustrate 
the principle by giving a few codes for special matters, 
showing how easily this can be done. 



70 SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED. 

We have seen that when the Conjurer deals with 
articles of dress, he indicates the fact by using the word 
" touching." He should also enlarge this by reducing every 
outer garment to a simple code — as, for instance : — " Hat " 
may be represented by the substitute of its initial letter, 
namely, " I ;" so that when he says " Is this that I am 
touching seen by you ? " the Clairvoyant knows that what 
he is touching is an article of dress, and she knows that 
she shall find what that article is by going to the first letter 
of the first word uttered ; and on meeting with " I " she 
knows that "I" stands for "H," and that " H," in the 
code for dress, stands for " Hat." 

Now, hats are common, as all the world knows, and the 
Conjurer always finds plenty of them in the best seats. 
What is more, he will find that most of them come from the 
same shops, or at least one of two or three shops. He will, 
therefore, on entering a town make himself acquainted with 
the most fashionable hatters, and code them. It may be here 
remarked that he will do the same with jewellers and 
watchmakers. These codes will be constructed with due 
regard to what may be styled hatters and watchmakers of 
national reputation. 

This process of coding is easy, so long as words do not 
begin with the same letter ; but when they do, the conflicting 
wordsmust be accommodated. For instance, "Handkerchief" 
would clash with "Hat." It is easy, however, to drop the 
first syllable, take the word " kerchief," and make " J " 
stand for the word. " Just name this that I am touching 1 n 
would serve in this case. 

"Collar" and "Cuff" would clash too. In a former 
instance, illustrating the complete spelling out of words, 
" Cuff" was dealt with. It would be purely matter for 



SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED. 71 

arrangement as to which should be designated by " C," and 
what should be done with the other word. It is easy to 
proceed upon the mnemonic principle, and arrange that 
"Collar" shall be "Lapel," and "Lapel" shall be 
nominated by " M," so that " Collar " shall be " M." Every 
part of this business is matter for arrangement, and it 
would take very many pages to illustrate every possible 
form of code. A brief code for some parts of dress, 
however, will be useful. Let it be arranged that — 

Cuff is to bo represented by D, the substitute of C. 

Collar, transposed to lapel, is to be represented by M, 
the substitute for 1ST. 

Sleeve is to be represented by T, the substitute of S. 

Hat „ I, „ H. 

Button „ C, „ B. 

Jewellery „ P, „ O, for ornament. 

These are all words descriptive of a lady's, also of a 
gentleman's, dress. Some designation, therefore, is necessary 
to distinguish between the two. This may be managed by 
introducing the word " now " into the sentence applying to 
a gentleman's dress, and leaving the lady's with no such 
designation. For instance, the Conjurer may say — 

" I am now touching something 1 " 

The answer would be "A gentleman's hat." 

If the hatter was the most fashionable hatter in the 
town, and the one agreed upon to be the chief hatter of the 
code, the Conjurer would say — 

"Hatter's name?" 

If the hatter were a second-rate one, he would ask the 
question with the necessary initial. In another case he 
would say — 

" Can you tell me what I am now touching % " 



72 SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED. 



" A button on some gentleman's dress.' 



" A waistcoat or coat button 1 " 
" Waistcoat." 

Because "A" would be the representative initial of 
waistcoat. 

The Conjurer would proceed — 
" Can you tell me what I am touching 1 " 
u A button on a lady's dress." 
" Now, what is it made of? " 
" It looks like silver." 

This last question would be rather dangerous without 
more coding than has been given here. It would need the 
word " metal " to be introduced into the question, but a code 
could be made up for buttons and also for materials of dress. 
Here are some examples : — 

Velvet may be represented by W for Y. 
Sealskin „ 

Lace „ 

Ribbon „ 

Silk 

Metal „ 

Glass „ 

Suppose a gentleman wearing a sealskin waistcoat with 
gilt buttons — a very unusual costume, and therefore a good 
test — the following would be the conversation : — 
" Can you tell me what I am touching now ? " 
"A button on a gentleman's dress." 
" Now, have you any idea what it is made of? " 
« Metal, I think." 
" Tell me the kind of metal ? " 

" It looks like gold or gilt." " G " represents No. 1 
metal, or gold. 



T 


» 


s. 


M 


)> 


L. 


S 


3? 


E. 


L 


}> 


K. 


N 


}> 


M. 


H 


)> 


G. 



SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED. 73 

* Tell me what the waistcoat is made of? " 

<•' Sealskin." 

A sealskin waistcoat with gilt buttons, and ail seen 
blindfolded! It will be observed, too, that there are three codes, 
or sub-codes, used here. The code for " things " taken from 
the pocket is first used, and this leads to the code for metal, 
and that leads to the code for material. They do not clash, 
because the mind naturally passes from one to another. 

The ornaments usually worn by ladies and gentlemen 
may be coded in the same way. 

The generic term "Jewellery" or " Ornament " may be 
designated by " P," and under this may be classified all the 
various stones and diamonds, and gold and silver rings and 
brooches. As, for instance : — 

u Ring " may be represented by " S," the letter for " R." 
It may be assumed to be gold if not otherwise designated. 
Suppose a sailor were to offer a silver ring, and the Conjurer 
were to say — 

" Say, now, what I am touching 1 " 

The Clairvoyant should say " A ring," but she might say 
<• A gold ring." 

The Conjurer would reply " Not gold," upon which she 
would say " A silver ring." She would know it was a 
ring, and the (; Xo," would tell her it was No. 2 metal, 
or silver. 

Diainondswould be represented by "E," the letter for " D." 
The various stones would have to be classified, and it is a 
question whether jewellery should not be classified under 
dress rather than under a separate division. The question, 
however, should be settled by the person who is to use the 
code. 

The colours, however, may be dealt with in full, but we 



74 SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED. 

tn for 



need not go beyond 


the 


colours 


of the spe< 


examples : — 








Violet may 


be indicated 


by W. 


Indigo 




?? 


J. 


Blue 




?> 


C. 


Green 




>» 


H. 


Yellow 




j? 


Yery easy. 


Orange 




>? 


*P. 


Red 




•)■> 


S. 


Black 




» 


L for K. 


White 




?? 


A. 


Brown 




5? 


M for N- 



A few other colours may be added, and new colours can 
be classified as they become fashionable. Chocolate and 
drab would be incorporated without clashing. Mauve and 
magenta would have to be reconciled, but it will be noticed 
that since the Conjurer always conveys the fact that he is 
dealing with colours, the code is very simple. 
" Say what this colour is 1 " gives red. 
" Come, the colour % " gives blue. 
" Here, the colour 1 " gives green. 
" Please, the colour % " gives orange. 
A code for flowers may be constructed in precisely the 
same way : — 

The Rose may be indicated by S. 
„ Bluebell „ C. 

,, Heart's-ease „ I. 

,, Jessamine ,, K. 

„ Geranium ,, H. 

For example : — 

" Say what this flower is 1 " would give a rose. 
" I hold a flower in my hand 1 " would give heart's-ease. 



SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED. <5 

" Here is a flower ? " would give geranium. 

"Come, this flower?" would give bluebell. 

It is needless to complicate matters by multiplying 
instances. What cannot be communicated by an initial can 
be given by a s'pecial sign, and with a little thought these 
special signs can be mnemonically associated with the word 
so naturally as to make their remembrance almost a matter 
of no effort whatever. 

The days of the week can be coded by the figures 1 to 
7, the days of the month by their figures; and the 
months themselves may be also specified by numbers. The 
Conjurer in asking for the day would indicate that he 
wanted the day, of course, and his question would give the 
answer, just as if he were asking for a figure. The 
Clairvoyant would simply say " "Wednesday," instead of 
" four," or " June." instead of " six.'"' 

There should also be an arrangement for negatives and 
affirmatives. That " Yes " or " No " is the answer must be 
made apparent from the question, and for a variation the 
answer might be communicated by the last word of the 
question, as, for instance : — 

" Can you see anything on this paper now 1 ? " 

The answer in this case would be " No," from "Now." 

u Can you see anything on this paper 1 Quick." 

The answer in this case would be "Yes," from "Quick." 

Both instances are purely arbitrary ; but they will serve. 
They may be applied in this way : — 

" Can you see any inscription on this coin? Quick." 

"'Yes.'' 

" Be sure new. What is this first letter 1 " 

"A." 

'• Make out the second ? " 



76 SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED. 

*' Fairly done. The next P' 

« E." 

" Easy with the rest ? " 

" I see it all. It is Alexander." 

The word " Easy " gave the " X," and the whole name 
would he obvious. This is another instance of fall spelling, 
but in practice it would be advisable to form a code for 
Emperors and Kings. 



SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED. 77 



CHAPTER XIII.— CONCLUSION. 



Sufficient has been stated to enable any person with wit 
enough to practise Clairvoyance to construct any additional 
codes he may need for himself. It is only necessary to add, 
as was stated in the opening pages, that a scheme which has 
puzzled large audiences for years cannot be concocted without 
trouble or worked without long practice. Brains, energy, 
and perseverance, however, could achieve a great success in 
this business ; but a stupid and indolent person would 
make a wretched bungle of it. Robbed of all pretentions to 
the supernatural or abnormal, the scheme provides a 
pleasant pastime. The moral to be drawn from the mystery 
which has hitherto enshrouded the exhibition of Clairvoyance 
entertainments, coupled with this explanation of "how it is 
done," should warn people not to be too ready to ascribe to 
the supernatural that which they do not understand. The 
fact that a person does not comprehend the cause of a given 
result is evidence rather that he does not know everything, 
than that the cause is supernatural or even abnormal. The 
Conjurer, like the Spiritual Medium, comes upon the scene 
with his conditions and his preconcerted arrangements. He 
tells you just as much as he chooses, and no more. If you 
draw your conclusions from what you see, or think you see, 
you will draw erroneous conclusions; and as a good Conjurer, 
like an expert Medium, will never tell you enough to enable 
you to draw an accurate conclusion, you had better draw 
none except this : that since the performer is a Conjurer, you 
may be sure he is not superhuman, but simply a man, who 



w.Ct 



78 SECOND SIGHT EXPLAINED. 

knows how to throw dust in your eyes very pleasantly, and 
to befool you while he amuses you. 

An exhibitor of Second Sight will tell you the mode 
described here is not the way his Clairvoyant does it. You 
may answer that you are quite prepared to believe that. 
The details of this code, as here suggested, may be better or 
worse than *-^y code in actual operation. The Conjurer may 
adopt any course he pleases, but the principle on which he 
will work is the principle of a code. 



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